The perfect quarterback room would have three players: an elite starter, a consistent backup, and a young prospect being groomed for greatness.
3DownNation has taken it upon itself to rank the CFL’s nine quarterback rooms heading into the 2026 season. There are things to like about all nine groups, though it’d be tough to argue any of them meet all the criteria above.
These rankings were made through combined analysis from 3DownNation.com reporters Justin Dunk, John Hodge, and JC Abbott.
1) Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Starter: Bo Levi Mitchell
Depth: Tre Ford, Jake Dolegala
Mitchell has been the East Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player in back-to-back years, throwing for 10,747 yards, 68 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions. The 36-year-old has completely rejuvenated his career and appears capable of playing for several more seasons, though he indicated he’s taking things year to year.
Ford signed with the Tiger-Cats following his release from Edmonton and is capable of adding a new dimension to the team’s offence. The Niagara Falls, Ont. native needs to be more consistent but showed flashes of brilliance over four seasons with the Elks, going 10-13 as a starter, throwing 29 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions while rushing for 1,129 yards and four scores.
If head coach Scott Milanovich can help Ford take the next step, the Tiger-Cats will have the best one-two punch of any quarterback room in the CFL.
Dolegala, who appears locked in as Hamilton’s third-stringer, has thrown 12 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions over four CFL seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, B.C. Lions, and Tiger-Cats.
2) Toronto Argonauts
Starter: Chad Kelly
Depth: Nick Arbuckle, Jarret Doege, Max Duggan, Tucker Horn
It’s been a long time since Kelly played but the controversial quarterback was named the CFL’s M.O.P. in 2023 for a reason. The Argonauts believe the native of Buffalo, N.Y. has fully recovered from the fractured leg he suffered during the East Final in 2024 and appear confident that he’ll return to form this year under head coach Mike Miller.
Arbuckle played well in a starting role last season, throwing for 4,370 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions — numbers that were comparable Kelly’s career year. The 32-year-old is a steady veteran and arguably the best No. 2 in the CFL.
Doege was shaky in 2025, throwing four touchdown passes and seven interceptions, though Duggan and Horn are intriguing young quarterbacks. Duggan was named a second-team All-American at Texas Christian University in 2022 and Horn played well enough in the preseason last year to push Cameron Dukes off the roster.
The Argonauts missed the postseason in 2025 and have had to upgrade almost everywhere on the roster. However, at quarterback, they’re one of the league’s best teams.
3) Montreal Alouettes
Starter: Davis Alexander
Depth: Dustin Crum, E.J. Perry, Dresser Winn, Anthony Brown Jr.
Alexander became a CFL star in 2025 despite making only seven regular-season starts due to a hamstring injury. The 27-year-old threw for 2,024 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions to lead Montreal to the Grey Cup and became a household name as a result of his strong play, undefeated record, and penchant for smack talk.
Crum was signed from Ottawa during free agency and appears set to be the primary backup. The Kent State product threw 16 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions over three seasons with the Redblacks and brings similar dual-threat ability to Alexander, having rushed for 1,376 yards and 27 scores over 53 regular-season CFL games.
The Alouettes are leaving no stones unturned in their search for a third-stringer after moving on from incumbents James Morgan and Caleb Evans.
Perry had five separate stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, Winn threw for 834 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions during a recent UFL stint, and Brown Jr. was part of four different NFL teams before a recent UFL stint.
4) B.C. Lions
Starter: Nathan Rourke
Depth: Chase Brice, Gevani McCoy, Tommy Rittenhouse
The good news for the Lions is they have the CFL’s best quarterback. The bad news is nobody else in the room has ever produced at the professional level.
Rourke was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player in 2025 after he threw for 5,290 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, went 11-5 as a starter, and rushed 61 times for 564 yards and 10 scores. The native of Victoria, B.C. is entering his prime and recently signed a contract extension that ties him to the Lions through 2028.
Brice is the most likely option to serve as B.C.’s backup in 2026, though he’s attempted only 33 career regular-season CFL passes. The 28-year-old has been with the team for three years but barely got a sniff of the field last season despite Jeremiah Masoli struggling in a backup role.
McCoy was a collegiate standout at the University of Idaho, where he was named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year in 2022. The six-foot, 195-pound passer then struggled during stints at Oklahoma State and Temple, throwing five touchdown passes and six interceptions in limited action.
5) Edmonton Elks
Starter: Cody Fajardo
Depth: Taylor Powell, Cole Snyder, Zach Zebrowski
Fajardo was steady over 13 starts in 2025 despite throwing to arguably the CFL’s weakest receiving corps, passing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. The 33-year-old knows how to make good decisions with the football and has been given an improved supporting cast with additions like Austin Mack and Joe Robustelli.
Powell hasn’t seen the field much since 2023 when he made nine starts for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but showed flashes of being a future franchise passer. It doesn’t hurt that he spent three seasons under Scott Milanovich, who has had more success developing quarterbacks than any other coach in the recent history of the CFL.
Snyder finished his collegiate career at Eastern Michigan University in 2024 where he threw for 2,684 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions to go 5-7 as a starter. The 25-year-old native of Lakewood, N.Y. dressed for all 18 regular-season games with the Elks last season but didn’t throw any pass attempts.
Zebrowski played collegiately at the University of Central Missouri, where he twice won the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is the NCAA Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The native of Decatur, Ill. threw for 9,938 yards, 102 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions over 25 games with the Mules and also rushed for 1,165 yards and 12 scores.
6) Saskatchewan Roughriders
Starter: Trevor Harris
Depth: Jack Coan, Tommy Stevens, Brayden Schager, Jordan McCloud
Harris hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down despite being mere months away from age 40. The six-foot-two, 212-pound passer threw for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 2025 and won his first Grey Cup as a starter, checking off one of few remaining holes on his resumé.
After losing Jake Maier to the Ottawa Redblacks in free agency, however, the Roughriders no longer have any proven options behind the veteran quarterback.
Coan appears set to serve as the team’s backup, though he’s only thrown 29 career regular-season CFL pass attempts. The 27-year-old made 31 starts over a collegiate career that included stops at Wisconsin and Notre Dame, throwing for 3,150 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions with the Fighting Irish.
Schager is a standout from the University of Hawaii who spent part of the 2025 season on Saskatchewan’s practice roster, while McCloud was recently added from the collegiate ranks where he was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year at James Madison University in 2023.
7) Ottawa Redblacks
Starter: Dru Brown
Depth: Jake Maier, Matt Morrissey, Hajj-Malik Williams
The Redblacks don’t have any quarterbacks with jaw-dropping career accolades but they have something many teams don’t: two proven options under centre.
Brown has thrown for 32 touchdowns and 20 interceptions over two seasons in Ottawa, going 10-13-1 as a starter. The 28-year-old is coming off a bit of a down year, though he fought injuries most of last season and didn’t exactly have an elite supporting cast.
Maier has made 47 regular-season CFL starts, throwing for 12,302 yards, 62 touchdowns, and 41 interceptions as a member of the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Though he seems locked into Ottawa’s backup job for now, Maier has made it clear he hopes to become a starter again in the future.
Morrissey is a big-bodied passer who finished his collegiate career at Eastern Kentucky University, while Williams threw for 19 touchdowns and rushed for 851 yards and nine scores during his final collegiate season at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
8) Calgary Stampeders
Starter: Vernon Adams Jr.
Depth: P.J. Walker, Josh Love, Quincy Vaughn
Adams Jr. played well during his first season in Cowtown, throwing for 4,247 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions to lead the team back to the playoffs. The veteran also played well in a narrow West Semi-Final loss, throwing for 334 yards and two scores.
The problem with Calgary’s quarterback room is a lack of options behind their starter. Walker came to town last season with seven NFL seasons under his belt and was expected to hit the ground running. Instead, the veteran struggled, throwing for 395 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions to go 0-1 as a starter.
The 31-year-old was also forced to undergo surgery to his throwing shoulder after an injury he sustained in September. Dave Dickenson, the team’s head coach and general manager, didn’t have an update on his status as of his most recent media availability.
Love spent most of last season on the practice roster before seeing limited action in Week 20 against the Argonauts. The six-foot-two, 200-pound passer was named the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year at San Jose State University in 2019 before a three-year stint in the UFL.
9) Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Starter: Zach Collaros
Depth: Terry Wilson, Bryce Perkins, Payton Thorne
Collaros is a two-time CFL M.O.P. and three-time Grey Cup champion but there’s no denying his production has fallen off the last two years, throwing 34 touchdown passes and 31 interceptions over 31 starts.
The 37-year-old will be looking to have a renaissance year akin to Bo Levi Mitchell and Trevor Harris and the Blue Bombers have done a lot to help him, adding veteran offensive coordinator Tommy Condell, receivers Tim White and Tommy Nield, and All-CFL offensive lineman Jarell Broxton.
Despite the struggles of their starter, Winnipeg’s depth is an even bigger concern. Wilson appears set to be the backup with Chris Streveler no longer under contract but has only attempted 22 career regular-season CFL passes. The rest of the team’s quarterbacks have zero CFL experience.
Perkins has an impressive resumé for an incoming rookie, having spent three seasons in the NFL and been named the MVP of the UFL. Thorne also has intriguing upside, having started 48 games at big-name schools and worked with longtime CFL quarterback and coach Kent Austin. Regardless, the Blue Bombers don’t have a proven option behind Collaros, which could prove disastrous should an injury occur.
